Flexible cigarette retainer



Dec. 13, 1949 w. TAMOSCHAT FLEXIBLE CIGARETTE RETAINER Filed Jan. 24, 1947 J z W nT TM producedhymass production Patented Dec. 13,1949

William Tamoschat, New York, :N. 1 assignor. ,to

v Daniel D. Zell, New York, N. Y.

Application January 24, 1947; Serial No. 723,947 4.Claims. (01. 205-41) My invention relates"to {retaining members for containers carryi-ng articles therein, and more pairtieular-lytu a-- pocket case having means for retaining cigarettes in position whether the case is opened or clos'ed Among the qbjec ts oimy invention are to provide a non-elastic and flexible retaining element whlcirgslightly compresses. the cigarettes in position and which may be easilyinserted' into and removed Ir;.' m1, the ease; to. provide a .retaining element which can be'fl'exed when desired, without removal from the casegtd release oreinsert flieiiclga'rettes thereunder to aprovide means-for selectively or automatically,,releasing the cigarettes, after the case is'opened; and to accomplish the foregoing objects ina device capable of beingmethods, simply andinexpensivelyr r...

I accomplish these and other objects and obtain my new results as will be apparent from the device described in the following specification, particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an opened cigarette case employing my invention.

Figures 2, 3, and 4, are perspective views of three different forms of cigarette retaining members that may be employed.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the plane 5-5 of Fig. 1, and in the direction indicated by the arrows, employing the retainer of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a similar view employing the retainer of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the case and retainer illustrated in Fig. 6, the initial position of the retainer being shown in dotted and solid lines.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 6 employing the retainer of Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary side elevation of the cigarette case in closed position employing the retainer illustrated in Fig. 8.

In the drawing, I have illustrated in Fig. 1, a type of cigarette case illustrated in my pending application Ser. No. 681,341 filed July 3, 1946. This case comprises two tray-shaped members In and H hinged together at [2, and provided with a latch I3 for locking the two members l and ii together.

The cigarette retainer I4 is made of suitable sheet material such as plastic or metal thin enough to flex when the two ends l and IB are compressed towards each other. In the upper front and rear edges and 18 of the tray-shaped member, slots l9 and 2ll respectively are'formed into which the ends l5 and I6 of the retainer M are positioned by flexing thesames when inserted, the flexing pressure is' released' to allow the retainer intake on its normally flatposition as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that the cigarettes 2 I thereunderare slightly: compresse'd and there by retained. In inserting or-removing cigarettes;- the retainer maybe flexed, but not-t0. the Y point ofallowing the ends-of the -retainer-to escape from their slots, and in: the flexed-:position-f cig arettes may be freely insertedor remove'dthere under. The ends of the retainer may be ma'de sufficiently long-so as toprevent escape when-so fiexed' A sectional view of the cigarette case is shown in- Fig. 5, with the retainer 14 in normal positiom 'Ilhe tray-shaped half Ill-may be provided with an encircling member 22 which may be similarly slotted as at 23 and 24 to enable the ends l5 and I6 to project therethrough.

The retainer may extend transversely across the cigarettes, or diagonally, as shown in Fig. l, where the remaining retainer 25 is positioned in member ll so as to retain cigarettes extending transversely or longitudinally inside the trayshaped member.

In Fig. 3, a modified retaining member 26 is shown, having one end section 21 for insertion in the front slot, and another oppositely located end section 28, provided with a cam-shaped corner 29. When-inserted into the corresponding slots of the tray-shaped member 30, illustrated in Fig. 6, the retaining member 26 assumes the dot dash position 3|. However the slot 32 is slightly elongated so that the end 28 may be pivoted on its opposite end and beyond its transverse position shown by the dot dot position 33 to that indicated by the dot dash lines of 33. In this slightly skewed position the cam-shaped corner 29 engages the inside wall 34 of the encircling member 35 causing the member 26 to buckle or flex outwardly as shown, releasing the cigarettes thereunder, or allowing additional cigarettes to be inserted. The retaining member may be restored to its normal, unflexed position 3|, and 33 by forcing the cam back to its non-operative position. A small projection 36 may be formed on the outer surface of the retaining member, adjacent the slot 32 to al ow the member to be cammed by pressure of a finger nail.

In Fig. 4, a further modified form of retaining member 40 is illustrated. Lateral wing sections 4| and 42 are provided at ends 43 and 44 respectively to fix the position of the member 40 in the slots. The rear end portion 44 is of extra length extending through slot 45, of the tray-shaped member 46, through slots 47 and 48 of the encircling member 49, finally projecting a short distance outside the case.

When the opposite tray-shaped member 50 is opened about the hinge 5!, the rear wall 52 thereof engages end 44 causing the member 40 to flex outwardly for the desired purpose. End wall 53 of tray-shaped member 46 may be used to flex end 54 of the retaining member provided in trayshaped member 50.

In the modifications 26 and 40, the retaining members may be slightly and outwardly bowed at the ends thereof, at 26a and 40a respectively to bias the flexure outwardly when the retaining members are compressed.

I have thus described my invention, but I desire it understood that it is not confined to the particular forms or uses shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out in other ways without departing from'the spirit of my invention, and therefore, I claim broadly the right to employ all equivalent instrumentalities coming within the scope of the appended claims, and by means of which, objects of my invention are attained and new results accomplished, as it is obvious that the particular embodiments herein shown and described are only some of the many that can be employed to attain these objects and accomplish these results.

I claim:

1. A container having a chamber for storing articles therein, said chamber provided with a walled section forming an opening; a retaining member extending across the opening, made of flexible sheet material at least one end of which Cal is free to move, said wall section having oppol the retaining member therein; and compression means for applying a force longitudinally, upon the free end of the retaining member for causing the retaining member to be flexed outwardly with respect to said chamber.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the retaining member is provided with a cam, and means for camming the retaining member into flexed position.

3. The container of claim 1, having a lid, and the retaining member is provided with an extension passing through the wall of the container, and means for engaging the extension of the retaining member to flex the member, when the lid is opened,

4. The container of claim 1 provided with a hinged lid, and the retaining element is provided with an extension passing through the wall of the container, and means whereby the lid engages the extension of the retaining member to flex the member when the lid is opened beyond a predetermined point,

WILLIAM TAMOSCHAT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

France June 30,1925 

